To Christians With Love

Based on the lectures delivered by

Dr. Israr Ahmad

Rendered into English by Dr. Ahmed Afzaal

Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur’an, Lahore

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This book will not be printed again till permitted by Hafiz Akif Saeed sahib or Dr. Ahmed Afzaal sahib. Syed Iftikhar Ahmad.

Second Printing Dec 1995 2,200 copies

Third Printing XXX 2001 1,100 copies

Printed at: Shirkat Printing Press

Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur’an Lahore 36-K, Model Town, Lahore-54700 Phone: 5869501-3 Fax: 5834000

Price Rs: 25/-

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he second millennium of the Common Era is coming to a close, and this happens to be an extremely crucial period with regard to the ultimate destiny of

mankind. Unfortunately, most of us are so wrapped up in our trivial and proximate affaires that we tend to ignore both the rapidly changing situation at the world stage and its consequences for own future. The pace and direction of the happenings at the global level indicate that exceptionally significant events are about to happen, and that these events will have serious repercussions for the entire world, especially for the Muslims. The question that we must ponder is, Are the Muslims prepared for the imminent turmoil? More than two - thirds of the world population is composed of the adherents of three Abrahamic faiths, that is, the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Even a cursory glance at the headlines of human history is enough to reveal that the interaction between these three communities—in terms of both conflict and cooperation – has played a central role in play and even more significant role in times to come. Our main thesis is that vast opportunities are available for a really meaningful and cooperative relationship between Muslims and Christians, and that together they can play a decisive role for the achievement of lasting peace and prosperity on a global sacle.

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In order to appreciate the urgency of such cooperation, we must have before us an outline of the historical background of the interaction between the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims. This interaction can be divided into eight phases:

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FIRST PHASE: A fierce hostility and rancor has dominated the relationship between the Jews and the Christians during the period of 600 years that lasted from the departure of Jesus Christ to the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them). The first three centuries were characterized by severe persecution of the Christians at the hands of the Jews, who were patronized in this respect by the rulers of the pagan Roman empire. Unitarians, who were the true followers of Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him), were present in considerable numbers at that time. The incident of the “People of the Cave” that is referred to in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Kahf 19:9-25) belongs to this very period. The conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity during the 3rd century CE changed the whole situation upside down – or right side up, depending upon your viewpoint. The Christians. Who had been suffering all sorts of torments and oppression up till that time, were now in a position to have their revenge. As a result, the Jews now became the target of official harassment and persecution. As the Christians saw it, Jews were guilty of “deicide” – the murder of their “God” – and therefore it is not surprising that they banished the latter from the mainstream of socio-economic life. One exception to this trend, however, is reported by the historians thus. It so happened that, about forty years before the birth of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Jews were able to form their government in Yemen, a hitherto Christian country. The Jews then attacked Najran in Southern Arabia and tried to force its Christian inhabitants to give up their faith, who resisted and were, consequently, tortured by the aggressors. In this incident thousands of Christians were burned alive. This is also mentioned in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Burooj 85:4-10).

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SECOND PHASE: The circumstances at the time of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) can be clearly understood in the context of the following Qur’anic verse:

You will fing that the most vehement of all people in their enmity to the Believers are the Jews and the Mushriks {Pagan Arabs}; and you will find that the nearest in friendliness to the Believers are those who say ‘we are Christians’. This is because there are among them some pious scholars and monks, and because they are free from pride. (Al-Maida 5:82)

During the days of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), there were numerous upright and God-fearing monks and priests among the Christians. Thus, it is said that it was a Christian monk of Syria, named Bahira, who recognized that the small boy traveling with his uncle in a merchant cravat is, in fact, the final prophet of Almighty God. Bahira is reported to have said to Abu Talib, the uncle of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him): “Take your brother’s son back to his country, and guard him against the Jews, for by God, if they see him and know of him that which I know, they will contrive evil against him.” Another Christian monk is there in the well-known incident of the beginning of Divine Revelation. When Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) returned home after the awesome and overwhelming experience of receiving the first Revelation from Almighty God, his wife Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, who had converted to Christianity and was, by now, an old and blind man. Hearing of the event, he too immediately recognized that Muhammad was indeed God’s messenger. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. And he said, “By Him in whose hand is the soul

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of Waraqah, there has come unto Muhammd the same Namus [angel of revelation] that had come unto Moses.” Similarly, one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet, Salman Farsi, who was born of Persian Zoroastrian parents but had converted to Christianity, was told by a Christian monk on his deathbed that the time for the arrival of the Prophet is near and that he should go to the “country of date-palms” to find him. Moreover, another significant incident may be mentioned here. The two Super Powers of the time, the Byzantine (Roman) Empire and the Kingdom of Persia, had a long history of mutual animosity and armed clashes. In the years 615 and 616 CE, the situation was overwhelmingly in favor of the Persians, as the Romans had lost Jerusalem to the armies of Persian King Chosroes II (sometimes called Khusrau Parwiz). The pagan Quraysh were pro-Persian, mainly because of the resemblance of their polytheistic beliefs and practices with those of the Zoroastrians; while the handful of Muslims in Makkah felt an affinity for the Christian Roman Empire, as the message of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was in the tradition of earlier prophets, including that of Jesus Christ. The defeat of the Romans made the Quraysh rejoice, and they started to taunt and ridicule the Muslims, aggravating their anguish. In this context, the following Qur’anic verses were revealed, predicting that the situation will be reversed in less than ten years:

The Romans have been defeated in a land close by; but they, even after this defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious, within a few years… (Ar-Room 30:2-4)

As a matter of historical fact, this prophecy was fulfilled during the years 627 and 628 CE. The Roman Emperor Heraclius marched on foot to Jerusalem to celebrate his victory over the Persians, and restored to its

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place the holy Cross which had been carried away by the Persian conquerors some 9 years earlier. In general, we see that the attitude of the Christians towards Muslims was exceptionally benign and cooperative, in sharpt contrast to the behavior of the pagan Arabs who openly fought and persecuted them, or the behavior of the Jews whose surreptitious intrigues and conspiracie were a constant nuisance and a source of trouble for the Muslims. Thus, it is well-known that when the persecution and oppression became unbearable in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon im) allowed his Companions to migrate to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), the emigrants were well received by the Christian inhabitants of that country. When envoys from the Quraysh approached the Abyssianian monarch, Negus or Najashi – who too was a Christian – and requested him to expel these aliens from his kingdom, the latter openly refused to betray the refugees. Hearing the verses of the HolyQur’an, Emperor Negus is reported to have wept, and his bishops in the court wept too. Almight Allah (SWT) has said about such Christians:

When they listen to that which has been sent down to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth they recognize therin. They spontaneously say, ‘our Lord! We have believed therefore write down our names with those who bear witness to it’. (Al-Maida 5:83)

Although Negus never met Prophet Muhammd (Peace be upon him), it is known that he had embraced Islam. When the news of his death reached the Prophet inMedia, he led the Muslims in the funeral prayers for the departed soul.

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After the peace treaty of Hudaybiyah, the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) wrote letters to a number of rulers in the neighboring countries in order to call them to Islam, including two of the Christian rulers – Heraclius of Rome and Maqawqis of Egypt. He latter did not accept the call of Islam, but the behaved with respect and reverence towards the envoy of the Prophet, and he sent various gifts to Prophet Muhammd (Peace be upon him). The Roman Emperor Heraclius received the Prophet’s messenger with courtesy, and, after interviewing Abu Sufyan – who was at that time trading in a caravan in Syria and was still an unbeliver – became convinced that Muhammd was indeed the Prophet of Almight God. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. Heraclius wanted to retain his sovereignty even after becoming a Muslim, and this would have been possible only if there were a mass conversion of his empire in favor of Islam. Since he could see that his generals and bishops were evidently not interested, and, in fact, they were visilbly annoyed with the Prophet’s letter and the proceedings of the interview with Abu Sufyan, Heraclius too decided not to embrace Islam. Thus, the glories and grandeur of his kindgdom became an obstruction between him and the Truth. In short, we see that there was a world of difference between the approach of the Christians and that of the Jews vis-à-vis Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his Companions. Throughout the struggle of the Prophet, the Jews and the Pagans remained staunch enemies of the Islamic movement. As alluded to earlier, the malice and animosity of the Jews towards Islam and the Muslims was characterized by consipiracies and behind-the-scene subversive activities; they never dared to fight against the Muslims in open field. According to the Qur’an:

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They will not fight against you in a body, save in fortified villages or from behind walls. (Al-Hashr 59:14)

THIRD PHASE: We know that the Jews were banished from their religious center of Jerusalem after its destruction in 70 CE at the hands of the Roman armies under General Titus. Later, Emperior Hadrian built a new Roman colony, called Aelia Capitolina, over the desolate ruins of Jerusalem, but the Jews were not allowed therafter to settle in Jerusalem. After the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, Jerusalem or Aelia became a predominantly Christian city. Then, six centuries later, the Holy City surrendered without any fight to the Muslim Omar. The treaty of peace signed at that time between the Muslim conquerors and the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem included an item about the Jews – incorporated into the pact at the request of the Christians – according to which, under the Muslim rule, the Jews were not to be allowed to settle in this city. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE was followed by what is known as the period of “Diaspora” in the history of the Jews, when they became scattered throughout the world – some went to Russia or Europe, others escaped to Africa or India or Turkey. They Jews were allowed to visit their holy places in Jerusalem but they were not permitted to buy property or settle in the Holy City, and this policy continued throughout the period of Muslim rule – from Caliph Omar right down to Sultan Abdul Hameed II of the Ottoman Empire. It was only after the notorious Balfour Declaration of 1917 that the Jews finally got in a position, due to the support and assistance of the British government, to settle in Palestine. What is noteworthy here is that the condition set by the Christians, as mentioned above, that the Jews would not be allowed to settle in the Holy Land, reveals the hostility that was present between these two communities.

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Their mutual antagonism has been referred to in the Holy Qur’an thus:

The Jews say the Christians follow nothing (true), and the Christians say the Jews follow nothing (true); yet both are readers of the Scripture [i.e., the Old Testament]. (Al-Baqara 2:113)

FOURTH PHASE: The dynamics of the relationship between the Christians and the Jews stared to change, slowly but steadily, after the invasion of Spain by the Muslims in 712 CE. During the battles between Arab and Spanish armies, the Jews of Spain helped and supported the Muslims, and, consequently, after the establishment of the latter’s rule in Spain, they enjoyed an unprecedented respite of peace and prosperity after more than a thousand years of humiliation and persecution. Thus, Jewish historians like Abba Eban and Solomon Grayzel have acknowledged and recognized their “Golden Age of Diaspora” , that is, the period of Jewish prosperity and growth in Muslim Spain. After the end of Arab rule in 1492, and the consequent expulsion of the Jews from Spain by its new Christian rulers, they were given refuge and asylum in the Ottoman Empire, Large populations of Jews continued to prosper peacefully in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt, during the time when their brethren were suffering heavily in Europe, particularly in the Russian Lands. FIFTH PHASE: The Jews -- who were severly persecuted in the Christian Europe throughout the Middle Ages – were well aware that the only way to turn the tables on their arch enemy, the Christians, was by way of minimizing the influence of religion over them and by incapacitating the authority of the Catholic Church. Thus, they ingeniously used the spirit of rationalism that was flowing form Muslim Spain into Europe in order to make a

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breach in the bastion of Christian faith. The Jews of Spain -- by playing a key role in polluting the essence of intellectual vagrancy which is euphemistically called “liberalism” – were able to diminish considerably the hold of religion in Europe. At the same time, they were able to cleave the Christendom into two warring factions by encouraging freedom of thought among the Christians, giving rise to the movement for “Reformation”. The consequent splitting of the Christians into Catholic and Protestant sects created a permanent element of discord in their ranks, and thus began the Jewish “conquest” of the Gentile Europe. Moreover, an element of behind-the-scene Jewish manipulation was apparently involved in diverting the military might and hostilities of the Christians away from themselves and towards the Muslims, resulting in the carnage of the crusades during the 11the and 12th centuries. SIXTH PHASE: The division of the Christendom resulted in the mush more liberal Protestants adopting the high ideals of “Human Rights” and “Free Thought” and the orthodox Catholics still trying to hold on to their conventional values. The idea of virtually unlimited freedom of action led to a gradual decline in moral values and a slow and insidious breakdown of the family. Thus, the present state of sexual anarchy and permissiveness, disparagement of the natural two-parent family-system, glorification of promiscuous and irresponsible sexuality in the name of gender equality, and the increasingly daring depiction of “reality” in the electronic and the increasingly daring depiction of “reality” in the electronic and print media -- all these are sings of the downfall of traditional Christian morality against the rising tides of Jewish influence.

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A second triumph of the Jews was their acquiring the control of world finances, a process which started during the age of Reformation. Although usurious money-lending activity of the Jews had existed on a small scale throughout the Middle Ages, the weakening of the Church, along with the liberal views of John Calvin (1509-1594) in Economics, ultimately led to an enormous rise in the previously prohibited practice of usury. The acceptance by the Christians that such transactions are unavoidable for economic growth and material prosperity gradually made them hostages of the money-lending institutions -- banks, insurance companies, and the like -- all of which were, and still are, the strongholds of the Jewish people. Today, these professional Money-lenders are able to impose their conditions on entire countries and governments by first fueling hostilities between various nations and then providing them with loans to buy the much needed arms. Thus, not only the third world countries but also the developed cones -- including the United States of America -- are virtually ruled by a small aristocracy of predominantly Jewish bankers, investors, and financiers, who constitute a super-state over and above the apparent state authority. In this way the Jews, who were once a persecuted minority in Europe, were able to rise from the ghettos to take control of the affairs of the world, mostly through their clandestine and subtle -- but highly shrewd and effective -- conspiracies. SEVENTH PHASE: A secret fraternity of the Jews was founded on May 1, 1776, by Adam Wisehophf, a former Jesuit priest and a professor at Ingolstadt University in Bavaria (now a part of Germany). Known as the “Order of Illuminati”, the organization was created to attain ultimate world domination by destroying all existing governments

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and religions. The objective was to be reached by dividing the masses into opposing camps on the bases of political, racial, social, economic, and other issues. They were then to be armed and circumstance created to make them fight so that they would destroy each other, leading to the establishment of “One World”, to be ruled and controlled by the conspirators. This whole pernicious scheme has been laid bare by William Guy Carr in his book “Pawns in the Game” which was published in 1958. He has demonstrated the involvement of the Illuminati in numerous historical changes, revolutions, wars, and uprisings, etc, and has also explained in terrifying detail the means and methods adopted in order to tighten their grip on global polities. In 1897, the “Elders of Zion” met and prepared their infamous “protocols”, containing the future agenda and modus operandi for gaining control of the Gentile world. As a result, Political Zionsim was born and the struggle to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine was initiated by Theodore Herzel (1860-1804), leading to Balfour Declaration in 1917, and the de facto creation of Isael in 1948. The Ottoman Empire and the institution of Khilafa were cunningly demolished in the 1920’s -- as both were real obstructions in the fulfillment of Jewish schemes by employing the “Young Turks” and the cooperation of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who himself was a Freemason. It is significant to note that the Holy Qur’an has clearly predicted the dynamics of the present rise of the Jews, who were, at the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), an impotent and hunted nation. Thus, almighty Allah (SWT) says:

Disgrace and humiliation have been stamped upon them wherever they may be, except in the case when they get refuge under the favor of Allah or under the patronage of other people; they have incurred the wrath of Allah, therefore

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misery and humiliation have been stamped upon them. This is because they rejected the Revelations of Allah and killed His prophets without any just cause; this is the consequence of their disobedience and their transgression. (Aal-e-Imran 3:112)

What is predicted in this verse is that the Jews, after

becoming a disgraced nation in the sight of the Almighty Allah (SWT0. would never be able to rise on their own, but would always need the support and patronage of stronger nations for their elevation. This is similar to what Benjamin Franklin said about the Jews in his address to the Constitutional Convention in Philadepphia in 1787, that “….they are vampires, and vampires do not live on vampires. They cannot live among themselves. They must subsist on Christians and other people not of their race.”

EIGHTH PHASE: So far the Jews have been using and manipulating the liberal “White Anglo Saxon Protestants” or WASP, whose main strongholds are the United States of America, Britain, and France, none of whom can dare go against the policies endorsed by the all-powerful Jewish lobbies. However, in the present century, we are also witnessing the slow acquiescence of the Catholic world to the ever-growing domination of Jewish and Zionist elements. Thus the Jews, who were supposed to be the bearer of the collective guilt of “crucifixion of Jesus Christ”, were exonerated of this two thousand years old charge by the Second Vatican Council in 1865. Thus, instead of implicating the Jews in what they consider to be “deicide”, the Catholics have now accepted the idea that only the Jews of the time of Jesus are to be blamed for his “death”, repudiating ht concept of collective responsibility of the Jews. Others usually believe that it was the Roman Governor and the Roman soldiers who were actually responsible for the “death” of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the

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government of Vatican Has officially recognized the state of Israel, and the former has officially recognized the state of Israel, and the former has established its embassy in Tel Aviv. Vatican has also withdrawn its demand of international control over Jeruslem, and is now asking only for international guarantees for access to the holy sites. The hold of the Jews over their unsuspecting Christian victims has thus reached its logical climax.

We are living in the eighth phase of the interaction between the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims. The situation at the moment is that the unholy alliance between the Jews and the Christians -- which, far from being symbiotic, is actually more akin to the relationship between a parasite and its host -- has turned into a movement for world domination, euphemistically called the “New World Order”. In reality, it the Jews who are taking advantage of the strength and influence of the Christian West to gain control over the global affaires, and it must be admitted that they have already succeeded to a large extent.

The New World Order has, to all intents and purposes, already conquered the Arab world, and now the last obstruction against its nefarious designs is the potential Islamic bloc of Iraq by cleverly trapping her in Kuwait and then smashing its military might in the Gulf war of 1991. Now, it is only our party of the world that can offer a substantial resistance to the gushing and rising floods of Jewish and Zionist hegemony.

The strategy of the New World Order at this time seems to be that of “divide and conquer”. Thus, they are trying to isolate Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from each other, thereby precluding the creation of nay united bloc in this region: this is because such a bloc would have the potential to become strong enough to stand up against them. Therefore, they would try their best not to allow any of these three countries to become, or to remain for any

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considerable length of time, stable and powerful enough to become a possible threat. That is why we see the frantic and intense efforts to keep Pakistan from becoming a Nuclear Power, as w3ell as the attempts to isolate Iran by means of an economic embargo. Moreover, both the continuing chaos and anarchy in Afghanistan and the ethnic and sectarian violence in Pakistan – while admittedly indigenous in origin – are most certainly receiving their fuel from the agents and guardians of New World Order.

The Influence and hold of the small Jewish minority over the policy-making process in the western world has been fully exposed by Paul Findlay, former American congressman, in his best-selling book. “They Dare to speak”. He clearly demonstrates how powerful pro-Israel lobbies dominate American so that even the “Supreme Power” on earth is unable to pursue its own interests in the Middle East. Twelve years after the first printing of his book, Mr. Findlay is still working hard to warn his fellow Americans regarding this most serious of all dangers to their country and to their sovereignty. Recently, he has uncovered the conspiracy to make Jerusalem and exclusive Jewish city, banishing both the Muslims as well as the Christians from the holy city.

However, the most vehement and outspoken fighter in the war against Jewish and Zionist schemes is American economist and statesmen Lyndon H. Larouche, who is regarded as a controversial figure for his insistent campaign for global monetary reform based on equity for the Third world and his role in exposing the powerful financial interests which control international drug trafficking. According to him, the United States of America moved away from the “American System of Political Economy” when, in 1913, the authority for the issuance and control of currency and the control of credit was transferred from the US government to a private

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corporation -- the Federal Reserve System -- which is just another name for a group of international financial bankers. This was nothing short of surrender of sovereignty on the part of the American people. Mr. LaRouche points out that, since the death of President John F. Kennedy, the USA has adopt a new set of axioms for policy making, which he calls the “Rock-Drug-Sex Counterculture”, and which was created by the cult of Aleister Crowley in Britain and then imported into the USA. The result has been that “the family values are out of the window… A diminishing number of step-children, the number of children with single parents is rising catastrophically in the United States, and that is a big part of our cultural and social problems”. Finally, Mr. LaRouche argues that the American nation is a constitutional democratic republic only on paper; in reality it has not been such a republic for approximately one hundred years. According to him, the policies of government, the selection of most leading candidate for federal office, and the majority of popular opinion is being regulated by “behind the scene committees” representing what is described as “the establishment”. You can neither start your election campaign without the permission of “the establishment”, nor can you succeed without its backing’ the latter will be provided to you only if you can prove that you can “sell” the policy which “the establishment” ahs decided to push at that time.

There is a growing awareness Among American citizens regarding the degree of control that is enjoyed by the Jews in their country. The extreme Right wing parties, sometimes called “The Far Right”, are increasingly becoming more and more vocal in this regard. They describe the American federal government as “Zionist Occupational Government”, and are busy organizing militias and accumulating weapons in order to fight a civil

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war against the federal government. The Oklahma bombing of Aril ’95 was only a minor glimpse of what could happen in the future.

All this is making the Jewish lobby very nervous. In their desperation to curb all attempts to dislodge their hold in the American politico-economic set-up, they are even willing to sponsor the most anti Civil Liberties law in the US history. The imminent passage of the “Omnibus Anti-terrorism Act 1995” -- under which the President of the United States of America will have the prerogative to declare any person or organization “terroist” without due process of the law -- is a clear sign of this desperation. This act has already been passed by the US Senate, although the House of Representatives has yet to vote on it before it becomes a law. Even though a lot of amendments have been made to the bill passed by the Senate, it still retains most of the objectionable points. The bill makes a broad expansion in the power of federal law enforcement, without any provision for accountability. If it becomes a law, the act would virtually strip the courts of any opportunity of correct law enforcement abuses resulting in unconstitutional incarceration.

2. ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN BELIEFS Muslims and Christians have a lot in common. Thus, we find that the Christian belief system is much closer to that of the Muslims, whereas significant differences exist between Christians and Islamic doctrines on the one hand and the Jewish creed on the other. In this respect, we shall first consider the common features of the teachings of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) and then we shall deal with five crucial points that are shared by Christians and Muslim. A number of misunderstandings are prevalent among Muslim scholars regarding the teachings of Peace

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be upon them Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon them) as they appear in the four Gospels. Indeed, if one is to compare the teachings of the two religions in a superficial and casual manner, he can no doubt point out a number of disagreements. However, a deeper study of the teachings of Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) will reveal that there is no fundamental disharmony between the two. This point needs to be elucidated, as follow. The methodology of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) -- in his struggle to bring about an Islamic Revolution -- consisted of two distinct approaches. The first can be described as the primary or elementary approach which was employed by the Prophet to assemble a group of highly dedicated, committed, committed, and thoroughly trained men. The second one can be described as the ultimate or the final approach, which was employed by the Prophet to make use of this group in the actual confrontation or conflict with the guardians of the status quo. The primary or elementary approach of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) can be understood with the help to four Qu’anic terms. These are: Recitation of the Divine Revelations (Tilawat-e-Aayat), Purification of the souls (Tazkiyya), Instructions regarding the Do’s and the Don’ts (Taleem-e-Kitab), and the Inculcation of wisdom (Taleem-e-Hikmat). These terms appear at four different places in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Baqara 2:129 & 151; Aal-e-Imran 3:164; Al-Jum’ah 62:2), and represent the four dimensions of the fundamental duties of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them). It is significant to note that, among the previous Revelations, we find and interesting division with regard to the different aspects of Divine Guidance. That is to say, the Torah of Prophet Moses contained only the instructions regarding the do’s and the don’ts (Kitab), the

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Psalms of Prophet David was composed only of hymns of God the Almighty (Aayat), and the Gospel of Prophet Jesus consisted predominantly of wisdom (Hikmat). The Holy Qur’an – being the last of divine Revelatons -- is the most comprehensive Book in that it contains all three elements of Divine Guidance, plus it is also the source for purifying human hearts (Tazkiyya). All apparent discrepancies between the teachings of Prohpet Jesus and those of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) are, in fact, a direct result of disregarding the crucial fact that the Gospels deal primarily with the inner and esoteric element of Deen and not with its legal and formal aspects. Therefore, if one is to compare the teachings of the two religions without losing sight of this fact, the apparent inconsistencies would ceases to disturb him, and he will soon realize that both religions actually teach the same things, but from different perspectives. The ultimate or the final approach of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) consisted of two distinct phases: the struggle in Makkah, which was characterized by passive Resistance, when the order of the day was to remain peaceful and not to reliant under any provocation whatsoever: and the struggle in Medina, which was characterized by Active Resistance, and the accompanying armed conflict against the defenders of the status quo, when the believers were not only allowed but were actually encouraged and ordained to fight in the way of Allah. Some Muslim scholars have a tendency to disparage the teaching of passivity that is found everywhere in the four Gospels, labeling it as unnatural and impracticable. However, this issue can be easily resolved if we realize that the instruction of Jesus Christ to “turn the other cheek” was not a permanent part of his message, but that he had ordered his followers to remain passive and peaceful only till the time when they had

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enough strength the challenge the unjust and ungodly system. This instruction is identical to the order of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) that was given by him to his Companions during the phase of Passive Resistance in Makkah. However, in contrast to the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them), we see that the stages of active resistance and armed conflict never arrived in the brief career of Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon them), because Almighty Allah had raised him up into the heavens in order to save him from being crucified. Muslims believer that, after his second coming, the Christ will lead the army of the believrs against the followers of Dajjal, and that he will thus complete his unfinished mission. Then there are five very significant points of convergence between the beliefs of the Christians and those of the Muslims. These are briefly described thus:

THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST:

The Gospels of Matthew (1:18-24) and Luke (1:26-38) mention that Jesus was conceived without a human father as a miracle from Almighty God, so does the Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:45-47 & Maryam 19:17-21). On the other hand, the Jews don’t believe in the miraculous birth of Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon them) instead they call him a bastard and accuse his mother Mary of fornication. It is obvious that Christians and Muslims have more to share than do Christians and the Jews. HIS PERSONALITY: The Muslims believe that Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon them) was a messenger and the Promised Messiah or Christ, sent by Almighty Allah to guide the Children of Israel (Holy Qur’an: Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & As-Saf 61:6). This was also the creed of the earliest followers of Prophet Jesus, because we know from the

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gospels that Jesus Almighty Allah (SWT) and that it was Saint Paul who first introduced the idea of the divinity of Christ. However, what is really significant in this regard is that, in sharp contrast to the attitude of respect and reverence that the Muslims and the Christians have towards Jesus Christ (Peace be upon them), we see that the Jews accused him of blasphemy, called him an impostor and a heretic, and conspired to crucify him. Moreover, both the Christians and the Muslims believe that Jesus Christ performed the most astonishing of miracles -- unparalleled in the history of Prophethood with respect to their irrefutable and explicit nature. These miracle are described in various sections of the Gospels (See, for example, Matthew, Chapters 8 & 14) as well as in the Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:48 & Al-Maida 5:110). On the other hand, the Jews regarded these miracles as nothing more than “mere magic” (Holy Qur’an As-Saf 61:6). The contrast, again, is very obvious.

THE ASCENSION: Both the Christians and the Muslims agree that Jesus Christ forcefully and incisively called upon his fellow Israelites to mend their perverted ways, to give up sinful and unethical practices, to repent with the true spirit of repentance, and to purify themselves from all spiritual and moral corruption. He severely criticized the pretentious religiosity, the emphasis on hollow but legally spotless rituals, and the servile adherence to the letter of the law with no regard to its spirit -- the hallmark of the religious establishment of his time (see Mathew 23, and the Holy Qur’an Al-Maida 5:78). As a result, he was made a target of hatred and malevolence from the rabbis, the perists, and the Pharisees. The message and prodlamation of Jesus Christ (Peace be upon them) attracted the attention of the population both in and around Jerusalem, but it was accepted only by a very minute section of the Jews, of which even fewer became his dedicated companions. The

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number of these close comrades, according to the Gospels, was twelve, although matter of their names is controversial. The enjoyed complete religious freedom under the Roman rule, and it was their religious court, Sanhedrin, which convicted Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon them) of blasphemy and apostasy and demanded the Roman governor to carry out the death sentence by way of crucifixion. The Gospels and the Holy Qur’an both agree that the Jews were fully responsible for this wicked and shameful act. Again, both the Christians and the Muslims are unanimous that Jesus Christ was raised up alive from the earth into the heavens. This has been mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew (28:6,7), Mark (16:19), Luke (24:510, and John (20:17), as well as in the Holy Qur’an (An-Nisa 4:157, 158). The allusions of the Qur’anic verses are explained, clearly and categorically, in the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them). The only difference here is that, whereas the Christians believe that Jesus was raised up after his death on the cross and following a miraculous resurrection, the Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was never crucified at all, but that he was raised up into the heavens before being arrested by the Roman soldiers. The doctrine of “Ascension” is, therefore, common to the followers of both Christianity and Islam, though obviously the Jews would never accept this.

THE SECOND COMING: Christians and Muslims also agree in their belief regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ (Peace be upon them). The belief that the Christ will reappear on the earth is found in the Gospels (Mathew 25:31, 32) and is alluded to in the Holy Qur’an (Az-Zukhruf 43:61), although here again the allusions are clearly spelled out in the authoritative traditions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them).

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ADVENT OF THE ANTI-CHRIST: The prophecies of Muhammad (Peace be upon them), in the context of the events that will happen before the Doomsday, refer to the rise of an exceedingly cunning and sly leader of the Jews – Dajjal or the Anti-Christ -- who will fight against Prophet Jesus and the army of the believers during the ultimate World War of the human history, the Armageddon. Again, we see that the Christians also have a very similar belief. Unortunately, the Jews and their communication networks have succeeded in convincing the Christians that the Anti-Christ is going to be Muslim ruler from the Middle East. However, what the Christians mus realize is that no Muslim can ever be against Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him), because all Muslims revere him as a noble prophet and a messenger of Almighty Allah. A ruler and a military leader who will be opposed to the Christ can only be a Jew, as we are well aware of the malevolent attitude of the Jews towards both Jesus Christ and his followers.

As for the Jews, we know that they are still waiting for their “Promised Messiah” who is supposed to lead them to their glorious kingdom. That Messiah was none other than Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him), but they opposed and rejected him as an impostor and tried their very best to have him crucified. It follows that the “job” for a Messiah is still vacant in the sight of the Jews. Therefore, it is not all that difficult to visualize how a fundamentalist Jew will rise, probably in the near future, and announce his “Christ-hood”.

A similar event happened in the Ottoman Empire during 17th century, when a Jew named Shabbetai Zevi (1626-1676), announced that he was the Messiah, and became an instant attraction. The commotion and religious fervor he raised was unprecedented in Jewish history. However, much to the disappointment of the Jews, Shabbetai was arrested by the Sultan and he converted to Islam while in prison.

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Keeping in view the anticipation and hopes of the Jews vis-à-vis the coming of a Messiah, it seems absolutely certain that the Anti-Christ will be aJewish leader who would delude his followers into believing that he is indeed the Christ. There are authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), according to which the Anti-Christ will lead the forces of evil in the ultimate World War of human history, the Armageddon. God the Almighty will then send the real Christ, that is to say Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) will reappear on earth, in order to exterminate the Dajjal and his followers.

According to the prophecies as they appear in the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Muslims and Christians would unite and become a single community after the second coming of the Christ, i.e., Christianity would disappear as a separate religion by merging into Islam. The world would then be rules by Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) until his death, and that would be “God’s kingdom on earth”.

3. FUTURE IMPERATIVE It is really tragic how the Christians are being manipulated by the Jews and how the former are unable to distinguish between their real friends and foes. The European and American Christians are thoroughly brainwashed by the media, which itself is dominated by you-know-who, into believing that Islam and Muslims are their adversaries. The truth of the matter, however, is that the Jews are simply taking advantage of the Christians to further their own interests. The Christians need to recognize that they and the Muslims have a common enemy, and that the right thing to do at this stage is to cooperate with the Muslims in order to deal with the actual exploiters.

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The last book in the New Testament, the Revelations of John, clearly depicts the actual face of these exploiters, as follows:

…I saw a woman wounted on a searlet beast which was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns… I saw a woman mounted on a searlet beast which was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns… I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s people, and with the blood of those who had borne their testimony to Jesus… (Revelations 17:3,6-8)

This exploitation is on a global scale; however, in our own country, we have another menace to deal with. Non-Muslim minorities enjoy a constitutional protection in Pakistan, but this does not stop some of them from conspiring agains their homeland. We would like to caution the local Christians that they must guard against being manipulated, especially with reference to the Blasphemy Law. Pakistani Christians are being cleverely pushed into a totally unnecessary confrontation with the Muslims by a sort of “indigenous Zionism”, that is, by some of the Qadianis. The Christians must recognize that the beliefs of the Qadiyani community are much closer to the beliefs of the Jews than to those of either the Muslims or the Christians. Qadiyanis believe that Prophet Jesus had a human father, that he escaped from Palestine and later died somewhere in Kashmir, that he was not raised alive by Almighty God, and hence there is no point of any second coming. They also believe that their “prophet”, Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (1839-1908), was the Promised Messiah.

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It is for the Pakistani Christians to decide as to which one of them is their natural friends and ally – the Qadianis or the Muslims? Before concluding this discussion, we must deal here with the issue of “Anti-Semitism”. All attempts to criticize the Jews as the root cause of most of the troubles being faced by Christians and Muslims are, as a matter of routine, rejected and brushed aside as nothing more than signs of an irrational hatered of the Jews. In this context, we want to make the following point very clear: Muslims have no malice against any particular race. We do not want to destroy any particular nation or the adherents of any particular religion. All we wish to do is to exterminate the menace of exploitation. We believe that greed, corruption, and immorality are spiritual diseases, irrespective of where they are found. Our struggle is against the illnesses, not against the sick. Moreover, there is a world of difference between the animosity and dislike which results from prejudice and lack of knowledge, and the animosity and dislike which ensues from understanding and experience. Jews have been hated through most of their history; is it logical to believe that this long-standing and almost universal hatred was, and is, without any reasonable cause whatsoever? Isn’t it good advice that the Jews, instead of continuing to blame some mysterious “Anti-Semitism”, should carefully examine their own history and attitude in order to find the reason for heir universal “unpopularity”? Maryam Jameela, a former Jew, has explained the whole phenomenon as follows:

A people who insist against all objective evidence to the contrary in regarding themselves as the Chosen People of God, who consider themselves innately superior [over] all other peoples; who owe their loyalty primarily to each other and never to the country of their

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birth; and who, while they may practice the most exemplary morality among themselves, fel no such obligations to the despised “illiterate Gentiles” and do their best to corrupt others though their stranglehold over the liquor business, usury, etc., and, while they fervently maintain that Judaism is the only true faith, rigorously exclude outsiders… How can such conceit, pride and exclusiveness not fail to arouse against them the most bitter hatred? On top of all that, there is the exceptional intelligence, cleverness and ability of the Jews to snatch the first opportunity to attain the maximum power and wealt at the expense of others which makes them feared as well as hated…. They have never outgrown their tribal mentality. According to this outlook, a man owes his loyalty only to his tribe and clan. All non-members of the tribe are outcasts and he is not held responsible or accountable for his conduct towards them. Within the tribe, his character and behavior may appear most exemplary but once outside the tribe, he can turn to piracy, robbery and murder without suffering from the least qualms of conscience. (Islam Versus Ahl al-kitab: Past and Present; p.192, 193)

We would like to stress the point that We Muslims have no permanent animosity against any given race or nation. We live and die for the sake of Allah, and our love and hate are for His sake too. The message of Islam is universal, directed to the entire humanity. Anyone can embrace Islam and become a genuine and full member of the Muslim Ummah – his race, language, color, nationality, or previous creed would not make the slightest difference. However, it is also important to realize that one cannot sacrifice his principles and ideals for the sake of tolerance without simultaneously surrendering a part of

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his soul. We are definitely open-minded and tolerant of diversity, but not when it comes to plunder of global resources, exploitation of other people, corruption of the youth, and patronage of sexual anarchy. We began by asserting that the pace and direction of the happenings at the global level indicate that exceptionally significant events are about to happen. One indication of the coming turmoil is the growing resentment of the “Far Right” against the influence of the Jews over the U.S federal government, and the Jewish response to this threat in the form of the “Omnibus Anti-Terrorism Act”. In Israel, there is a rapidly growing conflict between the fundamentalist and the secular (Zionist) Jews regarding the establishment of “Greater Israel”. While the Zionists are supporting and implementing the idea that “peace” with their Arab and Palestinian neighbors cn bring more opportinuties for economic gains (read exploitation), the religious elements, in their holy zeal for the “kingdom of David”, would settle for nothing less than an Israel that extends from the Nile to the Euphrates. The recent assassination of Yitzhak Rabin is a case in point. It seems that the secular Jews are going to offer the construction of the third Temple – at the site of Al-Aqsa mosque – as a bribe to pacify the religious fanatics. Of course, any attempt to demolish the mosque will result in a massive uprising by te fundamentalist Arab Muslims. The rulers of the Arab world, who are nothing more than stooges of the New World Order, would then try to suppress their own people by brute force, leading to another holocaust – this time of the Arab Muslims. The whole situation is indeed extremely volatile and ripe for a showdown. Because of its axial signficance for the global politico-economic climate, any major turmoil in the Middle East would undoubtedly shake the entire world.

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The policy of the whole Christian world to support and patronize a small Jewish minority, even at the cost of incurring the antipathy of the entire Muslim Ummah, is most unfortunate and unwise. Instead of letting themselves be used by the Jews, the Christians need to understand that the Muslims, not the Jews, are their natural allied. Christians and Muslims should come together because they have a common enemy which is using one community against the other. The world has no doubt become a mess, but a combined Muslim-Christian effort can still go a long way in making it a better place to live.

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And remember when the angels said:

“O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a word

from Him, whose name will be the Christ – Jesus,

son of Mary – illustrious in this world and the

Hereafter, and one among the honored. He will

speak unto mankind when in the cradle and in

his manhood, and will be among the upright and

doers of good.”

She said: “My Lord, how can I have a son when

no man has touched me?”

He said: “So It will be. God creates what He wills.

When He decrees a thing, He says ‘Be’ and it is.”

“And He will teach him the Book and Wisdom,

(that is) the Torah and the Gospel.

And will make him a messenger to the Children

of Israel…”

(Holy Qur’an: Aal-e-Imran 3:45-49)